Russia masters production technology of ultra-pure germanium for gamma detectors

The Giredmet Research Institute, part of Rosatom, recently announced that its researchers have developed technology for producing high-purity germanium (HPGe) for gamma-ray detectors. This breakthrough is expected to replace imported crystals and promote the formation of a complete production cycle for detector equipment within Russia.

According to reports, experts at Giredmet have designed and manufactured experimental equipment, and based on this, developed a process for preparing ultra-high-purity germanium single crystals. The purity of the germanium material reaches at least 7N, i.e., 99.99999%, equivalent to only one impurity atom per 10 million atoms of the primary material. The institute stated that the first batch of experimental samples has been obtained, verifying that the adopted deep germanium purification method can achieve the purity level required for detector applications.

High-purity germanium is an important material for semiconductor gamma-ray and X-ray detectors, used in applications such as spectroscopy, radiation monitoring, dosimetry, nuclear material monitoring systems, and customs control. It is also closely related to nuclear physics research, medical diagnostics, and related industrial applications. Additionally, germanium single crystals can be used in infrared optical devices, manufacturing lenses, windows, and filters for mid-infrared and far-infrared wavelengths.

Giredmet stated that independently mastering ultra-pure germanium production technology is an important goal for enhancing Russia's technological self-sufficiency in the nuclear instrumentation sector. Konstantin Ivanovskikh, Deputy Director for Science and Innovation at the institute, said that the developed experimental equipment prototype and validated process parameters indicate that the center can proceed to the next stage of work, namely organizing trial production of high-purity germanium crystals for Russian spectrometer manufacturers. To continue advancing this work, Giredmet has submitted a funding application to the Russian Science Foundation.